Germany notches up record budget surplus in 2015: stats office

Germany ran up a record surplus in its public finances in 2015, with Europe's biggest economy showing "solid and consistent" growth last year, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday.

Germany notched up an overall surplus of 19.4 billion euros ($21 billion) on its public budgets last year, "which in absolute terms is the highest since unification" in 1990, the office said in a statement.

Public spending increased by 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter and household spending edged up by 0.2 percent.

In addition, investment increased with construction investment expanding by 2.2 percent over the three-month period and investment in equipment rising by 1.0 percent, driven primarily by public investment.

By contrast, foreign trade had a dampening effect on fourth-quarter growth with exports falling by 1.7 percent and imports slipping by 0.6 percent, Destatis calculated.